This is the Georgia case President Trump referenced in his border security address

The president outlined the murder of 77-year-old Robert Page in Clayton County last month as one of the examples why a steel barrier was needed along the southern border.

Author:
Adrianne Haney

Published:
10:03 PM EST January 8, 2019

Updated:
5:42 PM EST January 9, 2019

During Trump's address to the nation, the president made reference to several national cases of crimes allegedly committed by immigrants in the United States illegally - including one right here in Georgia.

On Jan. 8, the president delivered remarks from the White House Oval office, arguing the need to build a steel barrier along the U.S. border with Mexico. Trump said it would prevent violent criminals from entering the country illegally and committing crimes against U.S. citizens. The president outlined the murder of 77-year-old Robert Page in Clayton County last month as one of the examples.

"Day after day, precious lives are cut short by those who have violated our borders," the President began. "In Georgia, an illegal alien was recently charged with murder for killing, beheading and dismembering his neighbor."

According to Clayton County Police, Christian Ponce Martinez, 25, was charged with murdering Page, days after the elderly man's wife listed him as missing.

Clayton County police said a trail of blood led them from Page's home into the backyard of the home next door -- where they found parts of his dismembered body under a tarp. More body pieces were located in a cooler inside the home, where Martinez was discovered hiding under a couch, police said.

Robert Page, 77, was found dismembered in the backyard next door to his Clayton County home. A man living next door, 25-year-old Christian Ponce Martinez, has been charged in his murder, Clayton County Police said.

Lula Page

Authorities said Martinez was living next door to Page, and the gruesome killing may have stemmed from an argument at the 77-year-old's house.

Though authorities confirm Martinez moved to Clayton County from Mexico about three months before Page's murder, the 25-year-old's immigration status in the U.S. has not been released. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials confirm the federal agency has a hold on Martinez but said he is not in the agency's custody.

The prime-time national address comes amid a federal government shutdown over funding for the President's proposed border wall along the U.S. southern border with Mexico.